Ithaca Regional Website

Ewing, NJ... The College of New Jersey earned an at-large bid to the 2013 NCAA Tournament and the Lions will be headed to the Ithaca, NY bracket where they will begin play on Thursday, May 9.
 
The Lions are the fourth seed in the eight-team bracket and will face a familiar opponent in their first game. TCNJ takes on fifth-seeded SUNY Cortland, which secured an automatic bid to the tournament as the State University of New York Athletic Conference champions.
 
The other teams in the region are top-seeded St. John Fisher College (32-12), second-seeded Utica College (33-12), third-seeded Lebanon Valley College (32-5-1), sixth-seeded Penn State-Berks (36-3), seventh-seeded Washington College (26-17), and Western Connecticut State University (22-22).
 
The winner of the Ithaca Regional will then move onto the championship bracket, which is slated for May 17-21 in Eau Claire, WI.
 
TCNJ hosted the Red Dragons for a doubleheader in March with the Lions winning the first game 3-0 and SUNY Cortland taking the second 13-7.
 
The Lions enter the tournament with a record of 26-13, while the Red Dragons are 28-14 and are currently on a 10-game winning streak.
 
On the field, TCJN has a strong core of players with six players earning All-New Jersey Athletic Conference honors. Seniors Michelle Casale (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) and Kelly Hommen (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood) earn were named All-NJAC First Team, with Casale making the team as an outfielder and Hommen at third base. Senior outfielder Liz Huttner (Princeton Junction, NJ/West Windsor-Plainsboro South), senior second baseman Ashley Sogluizzo (Middletown, NJ/Middletown South), and freshman pitcher Ashtin Helmer (Succasunna, NJ/Roxbury) tabbed second team. Helmer was also cited as the 2013 Co-Rookie of the Year. Freshman catcher Jamie Purcell (Nutley, NJ/ Mount St. Dominic Academy) received honorable mention.
 
The Red Dragons are sparked by second baseman Lucia Meola (Liverpool, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) as the senior leads the SUNYAC in batting with a .438 average. Lead-off batter Diane Cork (Wayland, NY/Wayland-Cohocton) has hit for both average and power this spring with a .371 batting average and team-leading seven home runs.
 
On the mound, junior Amber Corrigan (Montgomery, NY/Valley Central) led the pitching staff with 14 victories